Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has given Philadelphia back its favorite blight-fighting tool. In a Sept. 13 ruling, state justices unanimously reaffirmed the city’s ability to force property owners to maintain the appearances of their vacant buildings, reversing a 2015 lower court ruling.

The case centers on the city’s “doors and windows” ordinance, which the Department of Licenses and Inspections began enforcing in 2011 as a means to reduce the number of unkempt, boarded-up buildings in Philadelphia neighborhoods.

The regulation intends to serve as a hedge against creeping neighborhood blight. It requires owners on blocks where 80 percent of buildings are occupied to install operable windows and doors on empty structures, instead of just boarding them up.

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.@JRGordonDC & Theodora Chang of @_NCST explain how a new federal approach, the Neighborhood Home Investment Act, could rehabilitate housing in #middleneighborhoods “in a way that harnesses market discipline & pays only for success”. For more: https://t.co/o6rGt40rUW @Nextcityorg